Sri Lankan sprint queen Susanthika Jayasinghe has been elected to lead the country's Olympic squad to the Beijing Games next month, a local newspaper said on Friday.

Daily Mirror said this announcement was made by the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka recently.

Susanthika will carry the Sri Lanka flag at the opening ceremony and lead a team of four girls and four men athletes to the Games.

The team will leave for Beijing on Aug 5 as the Games is scheduled to begin on Aug 8.

Sri Lanka is pinning its hopes on Susanthika Jayasinghe to bring home the gold medal this time.

In 2000, Susanthika became the nation's first Olympic Games medalist since 1948, when she finished behind Marion Jones and Pauline Davis-Thompson in the women's 200 meters.

She also won a gold medal in the 200 meters event at the World Championships in Japan last year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2008)